Cry Alone
by Amoralyn
Summary: Naki x Reader. It starts with a deal, and ends with you imprisoned by Aogiri Tree. Living in a small cell, in constant fear, you're only source of joy becomes your guard: Naki. As you begin to learn more about him, and he you, you start to grow closer. But what happens after you leave your prison? One way or another, you're not coming back—leaving Naki to make a tough choice.
1. The Deal

_Author's Note: So, in celebration of Tokyo Ghoul week, in particular its first day, Villains Day, I thought I'd post the first part of my Naki story! I've been working on it for a while, and I was really excited about it but had to put it on hold for school. Now, I'm really hoping to finish it! Well, enjoy~_

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**Chapter One: The Deal**

Your head throbs. It's like it's filled with thick, milky pudding, and all your thoughts move sluggishly through your mind. Your body feels heavy and stiff, like you haven't moved for hours, and your mouth is so dry you have to peel your tongue from the bottom of your mouth.

"Oi! Hey! Why did you bring me down here?! I have errands to run!" A voice, high-pitched but distinctly male, sounds from somewhere nearby. You try to open your eyelids, but they feel so heavy, and the dark is cold but familiar and comforting. Even through the heavy mist in your mind you can sense that whatever you see when you open your eyes will be like nothing you've ever seen before…or want to see.

"…Someone needs to guard her." A deep voice, clearly annoyed, replies. There's a moment of silence, and the man with the high voice speaks up again.

"From what?! Why am I guarding her in the first place?! She's a human! Since when do we guard food?!" He yells.

This time his voice is so loud it sends a sharp stab of pain through your head. You try to raise your hand to your forehead, but it's so heavy. _Food_? The word briefly echoes in your mind, but before you can understand its significance the word drowns in the mist. Food did sound nice, as your stomach felt painfully empty.

"She's NOT food. Don't eat her, or the higher-ups will have your head." The other man practically snarls. "She's for trading."

"Traiting?"

"TraDING, you idiot!"

"Trading? Trading for what?" The high voiced man's tone lowers slightly, and you're very grateful.

"Tch." The deep voiced ghoul sighs exasperatedly. You hear him take a deep breath, before he starts speaking once again. "Look, there's this ghoul. He has some information the higher-ups want. But he's a shithead and won't give us the information for free. And he's a crafty bastard, and a pain to find."

A brief pause, and there's a loud knocking nearby. You make a small whimper: the sound sends a shockwave of throbbing pain through your skull.

"But he's got a thing for this human. Was hunting her for days before we got to her." He pauses, and snorts. "She was much easier to find, and capture too." He sounds…mocking? You're not quite sure, but as he continues, you get a strong feeling he's smirking as he speaks.

"And so we made a deal: he gives up the info, we give him the meal he wants so bad."

Another brief pause. The mist is dissipating, just slightly, and you begin to wonder who they're talking about.

"But if anything happens to her the deal's off. He wants to eat the whole thing, and one missing bite will screw everything up. You understand, Naki?" The angry voice finishes, finally.

Naki…what is that word? Does it mean something? No…not to you…then…it must be a name…?

"Humph." Naki, who must be the other man, snorts loudly. "But why am I the one who has to guard her?!"

"…We need someone strong to make sure this ghoul doesn't try to grab her and make off without honoring his end of the deal." The angry voice suddenly turns kind of amused. "And I'm sure that's why they chose you."

Even through your haze, you can guess that the angry voice man doesn't believe that at all. But when the other man speaks up, he sounds pretty pleased.

"Well if they needed someone strong, I guess it's okay." Naki says proudly. Another brief pause. The tips of your fingers twitch, and you slowly curl your fingers into a fist.

"…But why are we making a deal with this guy anyways? Why don't we just get the information him out of him the fun way?" Naki continues.

Fun…way? What is he talking about…

"Cause they need to make sure the info is 100% legit. And if it works out they want to be able to use him again." The angry man responds.

"Tch! If Big Bro were here…" Naki's voice goes even higher, and you can hear him sniffling. "If—If he were here—"

"Yeah well, he's not." Is the other man's curt reply. "And these are our orders. Make sure the girl stays in the cell, is fed and alive until we can give her to the guy."

More sniffling. You hear an annoyed scoff from the other man, and after a while Naki speaks up again.

"How long do I have to do this?"

"Don't know. The ghoul is stalling, probably trying to see if he can get her himself and then trade the info to another group, or something like that. As it is, consider you and your men stationed here until you get the word."

"Hmph. I guess it'll be fun to be on the _other_ side of the cell door." You hear Naki mutter.

"…This is an easy job Naki. Just makes sure nothing happens to her. Then we make the trade, and you're free." The other man's voice is deep and serious, brokering no room for argument. You can hear Naki grumbling in annoyance, but the deep voice man ignores him, and leaves him with one last order.

"Don't screw this up."


	2. The Prison

_Author's Note: Today in Tokyo Ghoul week is Gluttony, or Minor Character Day! As such, here's the next chapter of Cry Alone. Don't worry, you'll be seeing more Naki soon! There's a reason next chapter is titled 'The Guard'. Well, hope you enjoy! Warning: Kidnapping, imprisonment below.  
_—

You don't know how long you slept, but by the time you wake up the voices are gone. Your head is clearer, at least, and although your body aches when you slowly haul it up into a sitting position, at least now you can move.  
You make a low groan as you rub your back. Were you lying on the ground? Rubbing your eyes blearily and looking down, you see the surface you were really on wasn't much better. You'd been lying on a small, cold mattress that was, itself, as hard as the ground, and only separated from said ground by about a foot, held up by the thin steel bars of the frame.

Looking around, you could see you were in a dark grey room. The walls and floor seemed to be made out of the same material, and the only furniture in the cell was the mattress you were currently on. On the side of the room you could just make out a small recess in the wall, hidden by a thin, flimsy white curtain. You struggle to your feet, putting your hand on the cold wall for support, and stumble to the curtain. You pull it back gently, since anymore force looks like it would rip it down, and because you can barely gather up any extra strength. Behind the curtain is a small bathroom, with a toilet and a small shower.

You briefly wonder why there's a shower here when this room seems designed to be as uncomfortable as possible, but shake your head as your struggle to think just makes your head throb painfully. Turning back to the bed, you see something you missed before: underneath the small frame is a plastic bag, and you can see the familiar head of a bottle of water there.

Stumbling over as quickly as you can, you grab the bag, fall back onto the bed, and open the bottle. You chug half the water before you realise you should probably conserve it, not knowing how much you'll get, and reluctantly replace the cap and put the bottle away.

Also in the bag is a sandwich wrapped in plastic, and your stomach rumbles audibly at the sight. You rip open the package and wolf the sandwich down. All you can taste is dry bread and sharp cheese, but it's like a five star meal with how ravenous you are. You don't even bother trying to save any for later, since even after finishing it you're still hungry, although it's at least bearable now.

Now that you're hunger and thirst are slightly satiated, you lean back against the wall your bed is pressed against, and start to gather your thoughts.

You wish you hadn't, because now you're starting to realise just what a bad, _bad _situation you're in.

Now, the words from the men before start to come back to you. A cold sweat breaks out over your skin.

You're going to be imprisoned in this small cell for who knows how long. And the only way out…was a path to your death.

You begin to breathe faster, your heart beating so fast you can see the room start to spin before you. Everything is starting to sink in; all the memories come back.

There is no haze to protect you from the truth anymore.

–

You could remember how it happened now. You'd been walking back to your car after picking up some food for dinner. It was such a short distance, and you had your phone firmly in your hand to call the police if anything happened. Your car was in sight, there was no one around. It was just like any other time you were walking alone at night, where nothing out of the ordinary would happen and you'd be perfectly fine. You were already thinking about if you wanted to have ice cream for dessert or if you should try something healthier and just eat the fruit cocktail you had in a can that had been sitting in the back of your cupboard for six months.

And then you heard a soft sound, like the sound of wind going by your ear. You turned your head to the side, but it has been too late. The cloth was pressed against your face with such strength and ferocity that you were pushed back into the ground. Your head probably hit it, but you can't remember that part. By that time, whatever was on that cloth had already caused you to fall unconscious.

You'd woken up every once in a while. You remember someone carrying you, someone dragging you across a cold floor, dropping you unceremoniously on a bed and slamming the door…but each time you woke up, any movement or sound was met with that cold wet cloth again. You suppose that, once you were successfully trapped in the small room, there was no need to worry about you screaming for help or trying to run. No, wherever you are now, whoever had captured you, they were positive that there was not even a small hope of escape. You were here until…until…

Until they traded you to become some ghoul's meal. You would live here, in misery and terror, until they gave you to this man to be murdered and taken apart to be his dinner.

Now, the only thing you could hope was that you would be killed quickly and painlessly. That he wouldn't start eating you until you were dead.

You pull your legs to your chest, hugging them tightly with your shaking arms. You're trying to breathe, to stay calm, but you realise there's no point. After all, what does it matter anymore?

You were dead.

There was no hope.

And worse, you would have to wait. Wait and suffer as the inevitable slowly approaches.

You press your head against your knees, and begin to cry. The tears flow slowly at first, before they start to fall like rivers. Your choked sobs echo off the cell walls, your pained cries filling the small prison. Time ticks by, but you have no idea how long. You can't stop yourself from crying, and there's no way you would finish anytime soon.

And that's when you hear the door open.

You look up, barely able to see through the blurriness of your tears. You wipe them quickly, and then look at him again.

A man with long blonde hair. An impressively tailored white suit. Red eyes.

Red eyes that are watching you curiously.

The man takes a step forward into your cell.


	3. The Guard

_Author's Note: Aaaaand I'm a day late, but this is for Sloth, or Free Day, of Tokyo Ghoul week! This is my first time writing Naki, so I hope you all enjoy '3'_

"Are you…crying?" The man asks, and at the sound of his voice you immediately recognise him.

Naki. The man assigned to guard you.

You look at him warily, frantically moving back on the bed until your back is pressed against the wall. A breathless gasp escapes you, and you stare at him with wide eyes.

"Huh?" He says, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes in confusion as he stares at you curiously.

"What's with you?" He asks, now tilting his head the other way and crossing his arms over his chest. "I can't eat ya, so you don't need to get so scared."

He almost looks insulted. After a few moments of silence, you slowly peel yourself off the wall, although you still eye him carefully. He stares back at you, examining you even as you do the same to him.

You're…not quite sure what to think, honestly.

He's dressed smartly, and he no doubt has to be very strong if he was stationed here to guard you. Yet…there was something about his actions, his mannerisms, that reminds you more of an overgrown kid than a prison guard. You couldn't sense any malice from him, and he really didn't seem like he wanted to do you any harm. He just seemed…curious.

He steps forward suddenly, and while you flinch instinctively, you don't try to run (although it wasn't as if it would do you any good anyways) or move back again (which also wouldn't do you much good).

"The first day is tough." He mutters, an odd mix of childish annoyance and genuine sadness in his voice. His eyes dart away, and as he looks towards the grey wall beside you, he sneers angrily. His gaze moves to the floor instead.

"I cried all night. It sucked." He pouts, stuffing his hands into his pockets and kicking at the ground angrily. "I was all alone."

You blink in surprise, and crawl a little further over the bed, towards him. You watch him closely, before you slowly open your mouth.

"I'm…sorry that happened to you." You whisper softly. You don't know what you're thinking, but something about his expression, the emotion in his eyes, makes your heart ache a little. When his head whips up to look at you, you turn your face away, staring at the familiar grey of the floor.

"It does suck. Crying a—" You choke back a sob, tears once again streaming down your face. "C—Crying alone. It's awful."

Naki makes a small noise, but you're crying too hard to hear the feeling behind it. Your words come out in between choked sobs, as you take deep, gasping breaths.

"I—I hate it! I want to go—go home!" You cry, pressing your hands to your face. "Why—why did this happen to me? It…it's not fair! Please, just let me go!"

You sob into your hands, not caring in the slightest that you're bawling in front of this strange man. Your body trembles, and for a moment you think you're going to actually break down, right then and there.

Then you feel a hand on your head, roughly ruffling your hair. It's painful, since the hand is so uncoordinated it's basically pulling at your hair, but you don't think that's the intention behind the action. When you pull your hands from your face and look up at Naki, he's looking at you in concern. When your eyes meet, he grins.

"Feels better, right?" He pulls his hand back, and then points to his own head. "Big Bro did it to me once! He said fixing my hair would distract me from being a big crybaby."

You stare at him, so surprised you can only blink. Well, how exactly does one respond to that? You smooth down your hair, and at that point you're at a loss. Just…what was he thinking?

It—It almost seemed like he was trying to comfort you…

"You should stop crying too. It makes your face all red and blocky." He adds, and you think that if he _was_ trying to comfort you, he wasn't really doing a great job.

Although…you had stopped crying…possibly more out of surprise than anything else…

Wait, blocky?

"Do you mean…blotchy? Red and blotchy?" You ask, tilting your head slightly. You can actually feel the corner of your mouth twitching upwards in a disbelieving smile.

"Whatever! Tomato, potato!" He says, flicking his hand back dismissively.

You put your hand over your mouth to stifle a small laugh. You had certainly never heard that saying put _that way_ before.

Naki doesn't seem to notice your laughter, as he looks around your cell with unpleasant glare in his eye, clearly disliking his surroundings. He makes a low growl in the back of his throat, and begins to shift from foot to foot, obviously irritated. When his gaze finally lands back on you, you can see him relax, albeit only slightly.

"So you're okay now? No more crying?" He asks, tilting his head up slightly as he looks down at you. It looks like he's trying to be intimidating, a cool and strong guard…but his gaze isn't the least bit cold or angry.

"I…" You look down at the hard bed you're lying down on, and feel the chill of the room. When you look back at him, he doesn't meet your gaze, still looking uncomfortable.

"You…said the first day was tough." You say softly, crossing your arms over your chest as you rub each arm in a desperate attempt to get warm. You look up at him from beneath your eyelashes, slowly parting your lips as you continue.

"Does it get easier?"

Your words have an immediate, and immense, effect on him. The pain and guilt on his face are obvious as he stares back at you.

His lips shake as he presses them together tightly, before looking away and viciously biting at his thumb, obviously not wanting to answer you.

As if the answer wasn't obvious.

Suddenly, an odd, garbled sound comes from the door, and you jump in surprise as you see two hulking men poking their heads through the entrance. When Naki turns to them, they continue with their garbled speech, and Naki nods as if he understands them completely. He starts walking towards them, before he pauses, and turns back to you.

"I can get you a blanket." He says, once again clearly trying to sound unaffected and cool, even as his eyes watch you closely. "Even I got a blanket, so they can't get mad!"

You stare at him, blinking in surprise. His eyes narrow and he pouts, stamping his foot to get your attention.

"Well, do you want it or not?!" He snaps. He seems to be getting more uneasy the more he stays in your cell. So you just nod enthusiastically. You'd never imagined the mere notion of getting a blanket could make your heart soar in joy, but here you are.

"G—Good." He states, spinning around quickly and heading back towards the door.

"U—Um!" You cry out suddenly, speaking out before you can stop yourself. Naki freezes, and turns back to you. He watches you suspiciously, probably thinking you're going to ask him for something else.

"T—Thank you." You say softly. You push your hair back, smoothing it down shyly again. "For—for making me feel better too."

There's a long pause. Naki stares at you for a few moments, and, although you can't see their eyes, you think the two large men at the door are staring at you too.

"It's—it's fine!" Naki stammers, pushing his own hair back to play with his ears…and the large holes within it. You'd wonder where he got those, but…

"You don't need to be all grater full!" He continues, his face flushing. "I'm your guard, so it's my job!"

And with that, he rushes out of the room, and slams the door closed. You stare at it for a few moments before sighing, moving your body so you can lie on the bed and try to get some sleep, when you hear the creaking of the door opening again. When you turn towards it, you see Naki's head sticking through it. He clears his throat, although he's already got your full attention.

"And I can't have you dying of no food or water, so if you need some, tell me." Naki says quickly. He waits for your slow nod of acknowledgement (although it's more one of surprise) before he pulls his head in and swiftly pulls the door shut.

You slowly rest your head on the hard surface of the bed.

Although you try to ignore it, a small ember of hope begins to grow in your chest.


	4. The Sentence - Part One

_Author's Note: And here we go, Cry Alone chapters are starting again! I'm not sure how often I'll be posting, but I'll try for at least once a week! I've been working really hard on making this story as good for you guys as possible, so I really hope you enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who left comments and reviews on this story as well!  
_—

"Hey! Wake up, sleepy bed!"

The loud, high-pitched voice pierces through your slumber immediately…not that you were sleeping very deeply in the first place on such a cold, hard mattress.

You groan, rubbing at your eyes as you sit up. Your muscles immediately cry out in protest, throbbing painfully after being subjected to this 'bed'. You rub your back, blinking blearily as you look up at Naki, who's looking down at you and tapping his foot impatiently.

"You mean sleepy head?" You ask, yawning to cover up your smile. You're so tired it doesn't even occur to you that teasing him could be dangerous.

Naki frowns, shaking his head.

"That doesn't make any sense, dummy! You _sleep_ in a _bed_!" Naki sighs irately, narrowing his eyes down at you as he 'tsks' loudly.

"Ah, of course. Sorry, my mistake." You nod, deciding to just agree. You're still a little groggy from just waking up from such a poor sleep, and at the moment he actually is making sense.

"Good!" Naki replies, clearly pleased by your deference to him. Just as you swing your legs around, letting your feet rest against the bitterly cold ground, Naki cries out 'Catch!' and you barely have time to move your arms into position to do so before he tosses something heavy and soft right into your hands. You blink in surprise, and then look down to see a thick, puffy blanket in your arms.

"There!" Naki says proudly, putting his hands on his hips as he pushes out his chest. "A perfect blanket! I'm the best guard, right?"

You can only stare at the luxurious comforter in your hand, still not completely able to believe it was really there. You were almost afraid it was a trick. Had he really gotten this…for you?

You hear the irate, impatient foot tapping again, and you quickly look up and nod, flashing him a bright smile. Strangely enough, it isn't even forced, as you can actually imagine yourself having a good sleep with this.

"The best, absolutely the best! Thank you!" You say joyfully.

Naki turns red all the way up to his ears, turning away as he sputters that it was 'No big deal' and that you 'don't need to be so happy!'.

"Absolutely the best…" You whisper, looking at the blanket in complete disbelief, almost giddy with joy seeing it.

"Y—You're weird! Talking about abs and looting…" He mutters under his breath. "Well as long as you know I'm the best it's f—fine."

You look up at him, eyes widening in surprise. Quickly, you realise that, with Naki's difficulty with complex terms, it's probably best to…keep it simple. At the moment his face is extremely flushed, and he keeps patting his abdomen self-consciously. To prevent anymore misunderstandings, in particular dangerous ones, you'd have to try and use smaller words as much as possible.

Although it wasn't like he looked displeased with your statement…

"Oh! Nearly forgot…" He says suddenly, pulling out a bag from the side and handing it to you. The bag is completely stuffed, practically about ready to tear. You take it from him quickly, before it bursts open onto the floor, and place it beside you on the bed. You open it up to see it was filled with bottles of water and packages of food, enough to keep you fed for a good amount of time.

"I don't know how much you humans eat, but this is good, right?" He asks, tilting his head as he looks down at you.

"Yes! It's great!" You assure him, extremely grateful. You'd woken up at some point last night, your throat burning painfully, and finished off the last of your water. You'd been almost shaking with worry about when you'd be able to get some more, since you weren't sure if Naki would really come back, although you had hoped desperately. Thankfully, it was obvious your fears were unfounded.

You waste no time pulling out some water and a meat bun in a small paper bag. You almost rip the bag open, your stomach growling as you take a large bite of the bun. You could almost cry out at how delicious and filling it is, and quickly continue eating. Naki watches you curiously as you eat, but you're paying more attention to finally getting some substantial food in you. It's only when he speaks up that you realise why he's staring at you.

"Does it taste good?" He asks, watching as you put the empty wrapped into the bag from your first night here.

You nod excitedly, opening the bottle of water and taking a satisfying swig. You look in the bag, and pull out another meat bun, holding it out to him. You take Naki's expression of disgust as a no, and return the food to the bag.

"Weird…" Naki mutters. He shrugs, shaking his head, before his eyes widen, and he stuffs his hand in his pocket.

"Oh, right! I need you to do something for me." He states, still feeling around in his suit. You feel your stomach suddenly twist unpleasantly, the fear of what he might ask immediately overtaking you.

Before you can ask, he suddenly holds out a crumpled piece of paper towards you.

"Read this, and tell me what it says!" He demands proudly.

You blink in surprise, looking down at the paper before looking back up at Naki. He looks at you expectantly, his eyes slightly narrowing in impatience, and when you finally take the paper he wastes no time in sitting down, or rather dropping his weight down and making the bed creak loudly beneath him, right beside you on the bed, smoothing out the paper in your hands.

"You can read, right?" He asks, leaning over to look over the page.

"Yes, but—" You start, looking down at the page in confusion. Your eyes widen. "Should—should you be letting me read this!?"

"Why not? What does it say?" He asks, looking down at the page. He suddenly points to some characters in the center of the page. "See? That's my name! I recognise my name, but I can't read anything else. The writing's all weird."

_So that's how you write his name_. You think to yourself, as you look over the page. He's right; the writing on the page is odd, with extra strokes and swirls. It's not difficult to decipher for someone who can read well, but seemed designed to confuse those who couldn't…in particular, Naki.

Considering this document was all about him.

"So? What's it say, what's it say?!" Naki demands impatiently. He can't really bounce on the bed, since it's practically hard as rock, but you can feel him trying.

"Well…uh…" You scan over the document, feeling your concern grow as you read more of it.

"Well what?!" He asks, his brow furrowing as he stares at you intensely. He's starting to get really annoyed, but you're still struggling to voice how to tell him what it says.

"It…it says that you were assigned to guard the prisoner…I'm guessing that's me." You say nervously. You decide to skip over the part about how he was put on this job because no one else wanted to do it, since it required so much time caring for and guarding a human they couldn't eat, and they needed to keep him busy with the anniversary of 'his' death coming up, whoever 'he' was, or Naki could get really unstable, and become a potential liability, in particular with new developments in the CCG. You don't think Naki would be very happy hearing that.

"And, um…you said you were getting a blanket for me." You can't keep the anxious edge in your voice as you continue.

Naki blinks, obviously surprised and confused that something like that would be in there.

"It…it says that you should be in charge of me, because they—because they don't care about me as long as I don't die or escape before the trade." You wince, the callousness of the statement making your throat burn. "But—"

"But?!" Naki cries out, obviously wanting you to continue immediately.

"But…they're worried you'll get too close to me." You finish. "It says to keep an eye on you, and make sure that—that you're not acting strangely…"

You hand the paper back to Naki, who growls and rips it up into shreds.

"What the hell?!" He says angrily, standing up and kicking at the ground. "What's wrong with them! I know how to do a job!"

He turns to you, jabbing his thumb at his chest forcefully.

"I was Big Bro's right hand man!" He cries. You nod enthusiastically in response, even though you have no idea who Big Bro is. You're sharp enough to realise that Naki is looking for respect, and that it's in your best interest to show it to him.

"They don't know anything!" He continues, angrily running a hand through his hair. "They don't know what it's like to be in jail!"

"But…you do, right Naki?" You say softly. Immediately, Naki stills, staring down at you. A small grin breaks out on his face, and he nods eagerly.

"Exactly! I know! I know what it's like!" He hits his chest, holding his head up in pride. "**I** know what it takes to be a good guard!"

"You're right." You nod, giving him a gentle smile. "You're the best guard!"

Naki's smile widens, and it's like all his anger from a few moments ago has disappeared. You're glad…you were a little nervous seeing him so angry. You still don't know much about Naki…

"Don't worry about them, Naki." You say gently. "You're in charge of me, right? No one else. So you do what you think is best."

Naki stares at you, nodding seriously as he listens to you.

"I know what's best." He nods, agreeing. He tugs at his hair, thinking. "It'd be a hassle if they kept questioning me…well, as long as they don't know, they won't ask right? They don't care as long as you don't die or escape anyway."

You wince at the statement, again, but you nod. The document had certainly made this organization's opinion on you very clear.

And it also meant you couldn't just ask Naki to set you free.

"So there! I'll just keep it a secret, and they won't get in my way!" Naki puts his hands on his hips, nodding proudly. You nod enthusiastically in return, giving him a bright smile. Naki had been the only one to treat you with anything even remotely close to kindness since you had arrived here…and you had a feeling the others in whatever this place was wouldn't like that. And if you were going to spend your last days in this hellhole, you would do anything to make it even slightly more pleasant.

"Hey…" Naki taps his chin, looking down at you, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You're good at reading, right?"

"Um…yes?" You say, a little confused. "I do read a lot…"

"So you could teach me, right?" He asks. "You have lots of free time…well, you're not free, but you still have time."

"Y—Yeah!" You nod, your eyes widening in excitement. "I could teach you! I just need some books, and I could show you how to read them, how to write—"

"Write?! Like writing letters?!" He says suddenly, his expression quickly growing more interested.

"Of course! I could teach you to write anything." You reply excitedly. Naki looks excited, and begins to fiddle with his fingers animatedly.

"You need books?" He asks.

"Yes, easy books, one's…" You pause, and smile as it occurs to you. "Books with lots of pictures!"

You can barely keep your giddiness at having a book to read, as opposed to staring at a grey wall, contained.

"And then I could write letters…" He mutters to himself. "Write anything…"

He smacks his fist onto his palm, making you jump, your heart immediately beating crazily in fear. You still had to be careful around him.

"Yes! You'll do it!" He points to you commandingly, making you jump again. "You'll teach me to read and write!" He pauses, and then stands up straight. "P—Prisoner!"

He adds it, but he looks uncomfortable even saying it.

You give him a gentle smile, but can't help but feel a bit sorry for him. It looks like the words bring up painful memories for him.

"Sure thing, Naki!" You pause, and then look down. "Sorry…I mean, of course I will, Guar—"

"Naki's fine!" He says quickly. You notice that his face is flushed again.

You look up and smile again, clapping your hands together pleasantly.

"Sure thing, Naki." You say softly, before you tilt your head to the side slightly. "I can't wait to get started!"

Unfortunately, you were too distracted by the light feeling in your stomach, paired with the beating of your heart (which you thought was surely excitement at actually getting some books to distract you) to notice the significance of the way Naki stares at you…

You didn't even realise the implications, the dangers, of what you were starting.


	5. The Sentence - Part Two

_Author's Note: Woo, new chapter~ Hope you guys have been enjoying the fluff, but I warn you that things are going to get a bit more dark soon! Have fun~_

_—_

"And they lived…happy—happ-ill-lee…ever after."

"That's right! Great job, Naki!"

Naki beams proudly at your praise, puffing out his chest. You had quickly learned that compliments and acclaim were the best motivation you could give him, and it kept him from getting bored while also making him work harder to remember the words. Despite your positions, he seemed to really seek your approval. It also made him incredibly happy, and seeing Naki's smile always made you feel lighter, as if a weight were lifted off of you. It was the brightest thing about him, even considering his hair and suit, and it never failed to make you forget the dark and dankness of your prison, even if only for a little while.

"So, what's next?" He asks, handing you the book to put away. You carefully place it in a bag, where it sits with the other books he's finished reading. He brings them to you every day and then takes them with him when he leaves, so no one else would find them in your cell. It would certainly…be difficult to explain why Naki was bringing a prisoner picture books. And as the days passed, and Naki's reading slowly but steadily improved, he brought more and more.

"I thought we could take a little break, and have some fun." You say cheerfully, as you root through the bag of food he had brought you this morning. When you'd been looking around in it for your breakfast, your eyes had laid on something unexpected…

"Look what I found! Here!" You smile brightly, handing him a brand new pack of cards.

"Huh?!" Naki grabs it, looking at the box curiously. "I must have taken it by axe and dent when I was taking that food."

"Accident." You correct him, and Naki nods blithely, obviously not paying you any attention.

"Right, right. So…how do you play with these?" Naki asks, tilting his head curiously, his eyes starting to widen with excitement.

"Oh, it's really easy! There are a variety of cards, and you can play so many different games with them, like…" You pause suddenly, and then something occurs to you.

"These games usually need more than two players though…do Gagi and Guge want to play?" You ask.

Hearing their names, the door swings open, and two masked faces immediately peek into the room. You smile pleasantly, and wave at them. They look between themselves, then glance to Naki, but they mimic the gesture.

Naki spent most of the day in the cell with you, saying that as long as you were there, he could stand to be in a prison again. But he couldn't risk someone seeing the door unguarded, so he had his friends and underlings, the twins Gagi and Guge, stand watch. They didn't talk much, but late at night, when you couldn't fall asleep because you were too anxious to relax, and all you could do was just try to keep your crying as close to silent as possible, one of them would tiptoe in and mess up your hair the exact way Naki did, before they pull up the thick blanket Naki had given you and quietly leave. It seemed as if since Naki liked you, they did as well.

"I'm going to teach Naki how to play some card games. Want to join in?" You ask. Beside you, Naki shakes the box with excitement and curiosity, looking at the symbols of the suits printed on the package.

The twins look between each other again, making excited, garbed sounds between each other. They suddenly shake their hands in between them, and you have to hold yourself back from laughing when you realise they're playing rock-paper- scissors. Gagi throws out scissors, and Guge paper. Gagi makes a happy set of noises, while Guge makes a disappointed groan.

You…think? Well, it's what you gather from context.

"It's okay Guge…it'll be your turn next time." You say gently, giving him in encouraging smile. He looks at you, making a softer set of sounds.

"Right?!" Naki says excitedly. He looks to you and gives you a big grin, and you realise Guge was saying something about you. You feel a sharp pang of disappointment that you hadn't been able to understand it.

You give Guge a sad wave as he slowly closes the door behind him, and smile at Gagi as he sits beside you and Naki on the cold floor of your cell.

"So, how about Crazy Eights?"

"Crazy ate what?" Naki tilts his head in confusion. "Human food?"

"No, eights like the number." You explain.

"How can a number be crazy?" Naki asks, obviously bewildered.

"…Old Maid it is then!"

"…Made what?"

Naki, although he occasionally had trouble with new concepts, was able to grasp them quickly enough when taught, especially if they weren't overly complex. It did help that Old Maid was one of the simplest games you knew, but it was new enough to Naki to keep him interested despite that. He treats every pick of the cards as if it were life and death, and celebrates each match he makes and loudly complains each time he picks the 'Old Maid'. He had certainly made this one of the most entertaining games of Old Maid you'd ever played.

He holds his last two cards in his hands tightly, as you raise your hand to pick one. It's not hard to tell which one is the Old Maid, since every time your fingers drift over it Naki looks excited enough to pop out of his suit.

You can't help it. You couldn't pick any other card if you tried.

"Yes!" Naki cries out, as you choose the Old Maid. You barely supress a laugh, pretending to sigh in disappointment instead as you tuck the card into your hand. Naki wastes no time in taking a card from Gagi, and cries out in joy again as he throws a pair into the pile, having gotten rid of all his cards.

"I win!" He throws his arms into the air, before lowering them slightly and looking at you. "…Right?"

"Right!" You nod, feeling yourself smile brightly.

"Ha! I win!" Naki continues to celebrate, while you turn to Gagi.

"Okay! Your turn, Gagi!" You say, holding out your cards.

You poke up the single other card in your hand that isn't the Old Maid, and smile at him. This way, he would win too, or at least get second place.

Gagi looks up at you, then the cards…before he chooses the lower card. You frown, worried he misunderstood you, but when he sees the card he actually…looks pleased.

You think? Well, he doesn't look disappointed…

He shuffles his cards, and holds them out for you to choose. You hold your hand over a card, and see him give you a small nod. You choose the card he seems to want you to pick, and you find yourself with a pair as well.

"You win too!" Naki says, grabbing and pushing down on your shoulders as he leans over and looks over your hand.

"Y—Yeah. Looks like." You say, looking up at the enormous Gagi in confusion. But he…seems happy, even though he lost.

"You'll win next time." You say, giving him a pleasant smile and patting his knee comfortingly. Gagi makes a pleased sound, rubbing the back of his neck, and Naki nods in agreement. You look up to see the blond grinning at you, and you're suddenly aware of how close he is. You turn away, your face flushing slightly.

"Well, I'm glad we all had fun! I can teach you lots of different games too! Like…" You trail off, as you feel Naki leaning closer to you, his breath brushing over your skin.

Sniffing.

"Ah…Naki, is everything okay?" You ask, a little anxious. You're not sure whether him being this close is a good or a bad thing, but either way it makes you nervous.

"You need to shower! You're starting to smell!" He says bluntly, as he pulls away very suddenly.

"Huh?" You blink in confusion. You pull up the collar of your shirt, sniffing it curiously.

You shower every night, when they turn on the water for five minutes. In a place like this, you'd never turn down a hot shower—even though Naki had told you it was because humans tasted weird when they weren't clean, although he'd also added that if that ghoul wanted you to bad it probably wouldn't matter to him either way.

"Sorry…do I smell bad?" You ask, looking down a bit sheepishly. Well, you were in a prison…

"No! You smell really, really good, and that's bad!" Naki insists.

"I…What?" You exclaim, obviously confused, as you turn to look at him. By then he's already heading to the door, and at a very brisk pace.

Are his ears red?

"No mind!" He says hastily. "I need to go eat!"

You look to Gagi, who puts his hand on your shoulder comfortingly before he hauls himself to his feet and follows Naki, 'speaking' to him as they leave. Just before the door closes…

"Not hungry but…she makes my bel—my stow-muck feel weird…"

So…he didn't want to eat you, but…what?

Well, Naki was never the easiest to understand, and it was probably just better to be 'grater full' that you didn't make him hungry, and try not to let it concern you any further. After all, you had a lot more to worry about.

You wake up, how much later you don't know. You only remember showering, and then lying down in your bed where you had fallen asleep almost instantly.

You hear something going on outside, and rub your eyes as you sit up in your bed.

"Na…ki?" You murmur softly, pushing your blanket to the side and swinging your legs over the edge of the bed. You hear one of the twins talking, and it's like a vice wraps around your heart. You don't know what he's saying, but you can definitely recognise the anger and distress in his voice.

Suddenly, the weak lights in your cell turn off, bathing the entire room in darkness.

_No. It can't be. It can't be time._

The door slowly opens, allowing a sliver of dim light to enter your cell.

_I—I didn't say goodbye to Naki! To anyone!_

You can see a dark silhouette, hidden in the shadow of the door.

_I—I don't want to die!_

"Well well…so this is the little prisoner they've been hiding." A grinning ghoul, eyes black and red leers at you as he steps in the room.

"The _human_." Another ghoul leans over the first one, almost snarling.

There are more following, and as the door opens wider you see more struggling with someone behind the door, before it slams shut tightly behind the intruders in your cell. Suddenly a new, even more powerful fear strikes you.

They're not supposed to be here.

No one knows they're here.

They could do anything, and you can't do a thing to stop them.

You open your mouth to scream, but they're too fast.


	6. The Sentence - Part Three

_IMPORTANT NOTE: If you read my stories or follow me on only, please find/follow me on one of my other accounts (AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, Quotev), in case anything ever happens to my stories here. I'm debating continuing to post my stories on this site, so if you want to continue seeing my stories you'll need to follow me elsewhere in case._

_Author's Note: In celebration of my new job, and since my queue decided it was Naki day today, here's a new chapter! Hope you all enjoy! Warning: mentions of blood, gore, death, and violence which could be disturbing to some. Remember the anime that inspired this story. Enjoy!_

_—_

"You know how long we had to wait for that idiot man-child to leave the compound?" The one with his hand over his mouth hisses, his grip on you increasing further. You cry out in pain, the pressure on your jaw making you terrified he'll break it.

"His underling was a pain in the ass too. Kazuya nearly had his arm ripped off by that freak." Another one speaks up, kicking at the door and sneering.

One of the twins?! Of course…one of them was always standing outside. With growing horror, you realise that the struggling you saw outside must have been them overpowering your guard.

But as worried as you are for him, who, as a powerful ghoul, you know has much better chances of getting away safety than you do, you're much more concerned over your own safety.

The ghouls circle you like hungry vultures, the redness of their eyes shining in the darkness of your cell.

Your body trembles, your heart beating wildly against your chest and so loud you're sure they can hear it.

"Pretty nice cell." One speaks with a deep voice, over by your bed. "Way better than your kind treated my little brother. When they captured him, they gave him a one way ticket to the hell they call Kokuria."

You hear the sound of ripping metal, and something hits the opposite wall with a loud bang. You hear the sound of rock crumbling.

"When I heard Naki was assigned to you, I figured he'd follow in Jason's footsteps." Another voice mutters darkly. You hear the whoosh of air before you feel the foot connect with your side.

You scream into the hand muffling your voice. The ghoul must have been restraining himself, at least for the time being, since you hadn't heard any bones breaking when his foot connected with you.

But it feels like it. It feels like everything is broken. The pain burns under your skin, spreading like a fiery poison carried through your veins by the rapid, frenzied beating of your heart. Tears run down your face as you struggle not to vomit from the pain.

"Tch. Humans are so weak. One touch…" He pauses, and then viciously runs his foot over your wound.

You cry out again, chest heaving as choked sobs escape you. Your entire body trembles, wracked with intense agony.

"…and they wail like children." He finishes, snorting loudly. Someone grabs your hair and pulls it roughly.

"Try having your chest cut open by the CCG. Try hearing they killed your lover. Try finding out a CCG raid tonight killed half your friends." The other ghoul whispers, his voice soft and sweet and vicious like the venom of a snake. "You humans know nothing of pain. But don't worry, we'll teach you."

The hand on your mouth suddenly pries your lips open painfully, making them stretch as far as possible. Trying to bite down just makes your jaw ache, the fingers keeping your mouth open completely immoveable.

"Why don't we start with showing her what it's like to eat human?" The throaty voice behind you sounds menacingly.

"Hmmm? Where are we going to get some human meat now?" The poison voice says sweetly.

You feel like you're falling off a cliff. Like your skin is being turned inside out. Your lungs feel like they've turned to dust in your chest.

_No._

"Well, we got some tasty looking human right here." The voice behind you laughs.

You try to scream, but nothing comes out. You try to move, but you can't. Every part of you is paralysed with fear.

But someone does scream.

No, more than one person…there's a cacophony of screaming, coming from right outside.

"What the hell? Can't they keep hold of one mook?!" One of the ghouls growls. Amidst his angry tone you hear an edge of fear in his voice.

Then you hear someone crying out your name in a high pitched voice, followed by a long string of garbled speech.

At the same time as the ghoul behind you releases your mouth, you cry out in joy, ignoring the ache of your jaw.

"Naki!"

You can taste the tears of joy on your lips, and you swear it's the sweetest thing you've ever had.

The door to the prison flies off its hinges, and in the light from the hall you see the massive hunk of metal slam one of the ghouls into the wall, the sound of breaking bones accompanying his cry of pain.

When you turn back to the door, you see Naki, illuminated by light like a beautiful aura.

Even while his appearance takes your breath away, and at the same time sends a shiver of fear down your spine.

His eyes are red and black and bear the ferocity of a wild animal. His hair, which he always keeps as neat as possible, is sticking up every which way—except for the part which was soaked with blood.

Something huge and sharp sticks out of his shoulder. Blood runs down the length of it, rapidly dripping on the floor. His teeth are bared.

You never noticed how sharp they were.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" He screams, rushing forward. The large hands of the twins grasp his arms, stopping him, and they quickly start talking.

"Fine!" Naki snaps. He growls, but stills, glaring at the men viciously.

"_Guge_." Naki says darkly, and obediently the twin rushes towards you.

"Hey, wait a—" The ghoul behind you straightens up, but his words are cut off when Guge's hand grabs his face, the skin of the man squeezed between the twin's thick fingers, before Guge flings him out the door, Naki and Gagi side-stepping smoothly. You hear a sickening crack, but can't imagine he would be in good shape anyways.

As he flew past you, you saw a red and black eyeball, swinging by the thin strand of flesh which came from the socket the eyeball had been squeezed out of.

Guge picks you up gently, immediately avoiding your wound when his hand just touching it makes you whimper. You clutch at his suit as strongly as you can, your hands shaking.

"What—!" The ghoul with the poison voice cries out, but before he can finish, Naki darts towards him, moving so fast you can barely see him. Naki pushes the wickedly sharp tip of the armored spear coming out of his shoulder into the other ghoul's open maw, a sickening squelch noise sounding as it exits the back of his neck, and in one quick twist of his body Naki throws him out the door as well. When the ghoul separates from Naki's weapon, the dim light reveals chunks of skin still clinging to it. He spins around to look at the ghouls still in your cell.

"You!" Naki cries out, his body still shaking in rage as he steps forward. He thrusts his hand forward, cracking his middle finger loudly. "You're all deflying orders! No one gets to touch her!"

No one dares correct him.

"Get out! NOW!" Naki really looks like it's taking all his self-control, what little there is, not to slaughter all of them where they stand. You never thought he was one to hold back, but you're grateful he is now.

You're not sure how much more violence you can take.

You want to close your eyes, yet you can't keep your eyes off what's happening before you. At the moment you're very glad Guge is holding you, as your entire body feels like jelly from the relief of being saved, and you're sure your legs would have given out if you were standing alone.

The ghouls look between each other, obviously considering fighting him. But there's a pool of blood growing quickly just outside your door, Naki looks ready to turn them inside out, and even the level of malice coming from the twins gives even you chills.

The ghouls slowly head towards the entrance, walking out in single file. Gagi walks to the door, watching them closely and making sure they don't make a run for it, and Naki turns to you.

In a second, his expression turns from savage rage to distress, his concern for you obvious. He runs towards you, fretting nervously as he looks you over.

"You're okay, right? They didn't hurt you?!" Naki whimpers, his hands strongly grasping your cheeks to push your face up, so you can look him in the eye.

His fingers are wet. And judging by the pungent smell, you have a good idea of what it is.

He stares in your eyes, and something in his expression makes your heart ache. Once again, tears start to flow down your face, running down Naki's fingers, which shake as they hold you.

"Naki…" You whimper, and it's all you can say, as your words devolve into choked sobs. You want to thank him, grab on to him and hold him and tell him how he had saved you. You grit your teeth, trying to stop yourself from crying anymore.

"It—hurts…" You whisper, looking up at him through the blur of your tears.

And, just like that, his expression snaps right back to all-consuming fury.

"I'll make them pay! Just like Big Bro would!" He snarls, letting you go and stomping towards the entrance. "They'll beg to die! Bastards!"

"N—Na…Naki!" You cry out. You struggle to say more but…you have no idea what else to say. Everything that's happening is completely overwhelming, and you can't order your thoughts. It's like everything is going too fast for you to keep up.

"Don't worry!" Is all Naki says before he walks out the door. You see Gagi move to follow before he pauses, turns, and runs back into your cell, and picks up the metal remnant of your door. As he steps back into the hall, he wedges the door back into its frame. After a few moments the lights flicker on as well, and you see that the metal tearing earlier was one of the ghouls ripping your bed in half and throwing it against the opposite wall, where the huge chunk of metal is still embedded. Drops of deep red blood litter the floor, but you know it's much worse outside, and it would have been much, much worse if Naki had fought them here.

You hear noises above you, and when you look up Gage is looking down at you in concern (…you assume).

He gently sets you down on a clean part of the floor, making a concerned noise when you try to stand that tells you to stay seated for the time. He walks towards the remains of the bed, examining it, before he picks up the blanket, which had fallen down earlier, and hands it to you. You look down at the blanket, and hug it to your chest tightly.

When you look back up, Guge is looking back to the bed. It appears as if he wants to fix it, but with the weak metal of the bed and the thin mattress, the bed is in tatters, the other half of the frame imbedded into the wall. Guge takes the last part of the mattress and puts it down next to you, placing you on it immediately. Satisfied you wouldn't be sitting on the cold ground, he crouches, his fingers pulling at your shirt, right above where it hid your injury.

He makes a soft noise.

"Yeah…yeah, it hurts." You whisper. You try to laugh, to lighten the tension that hangs so thickly in the air you could cut it with a knife.

You wonder if it sounds as hollow to him as it does to you.


	7. The Sentence - Part Four

Author's Note: As always, please make sure you follow me/this story on another of the sites I'm on if you want to make sure you'll always be able to read it! We're nearing the end chapters, and I hope you guys are enjoying this!

You wince as you pull up your shirt and look at the wound. Your body is still wracked with pain, and the area is red, with an almost guarantee that in the next day or two you'd have a massive bruise. Just as you're about to drop your shirt, Guge steps back into the room, wedging the door closed behind him before running towards you. He hands you what looks like a cold compress, a large towel stuffed with something that nearly freezes your fingers as you touch it. You slowly press it against your wound, trying to be as gentle as possible as you feel the sting of cold against your skin, but it's not enough, and your eyes fill with tears.

Guge makes a strangled cry, and you look up at him in surprise. He's shaking, and as he looks down at you he begins to 'speak', making the same garbled noise over and over again.

The same…it almost sounds like…a word…

He's saying the word sorry, over and over.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." You say softly.

His voice is so sad, and you can hear him sniffling behind his mask. You pat his leg (the only part of him you can reach) comfortingly. He kneels down beside you, his hands tightening into fists as he looks away from you.

"They outnumbered you!" You continue. "They didn't even take you in a fair fight, they had to gang up on you."

Guge doesn't seem very convinced. You pause, trying to think of what to say. Finally, you lean up, and when he immediately leans down, you put your arms around him, and hug him gently.

You can hear the surprise in his voice as he speaks up. He doesn't move, completely at a loss as to what to do.

"It wasn't your fault." It's all you can think of, and it's all you need to say. Your arms tighten around him, before you gently let him go, falling back onto the mattress.

As much as you want to help him some more, you're exhausted and still reeling from the surprise and pain of the ghoul attack. As it is, the compress in your hand keeps nearly falling out of it, and you're barely catching it when it does.

Your eyes begin to droop closed, and the compress completely falls from your grasp. You don't hear it hit the ground, but you're busy falling to it yourself. You curl up on your side, on the tattered remains of the cold, hard mattress.

Before you fall asleep, you feel the cold compress on your wound again.

"Thanks…" You murmur quietly.

This time, you're positive the garbled response is 'You're welcome'. You hear it at the same moment you feel the blanket being spread over your body.

You don't know how long you slept. You only know that you woke to the sound of a familiar voice.

"Wake up, sleepy bed! Your guardy and Naki is here!"

...Guardian…Naki…

"Naki!" You cry out, as your eyes open wide. You rub them quickly, trying to get rid of the blur, and blinking as you look up to his brightly smiling face. You move slightly, and look down in surprise to see you're on a new full mattress. It's still on the floor, but it's huge, and so much more comfortable than the original bed that it's like night and day. Soft, springy, and luxurious , you almost wonder if you're hallucinating.

You try to sit up, and wince as the wound on your side practically screams in pain from the action.

"Hey! Be more careful." Naki says in annoyance, as he grabs your shoulders and quickly sits you up. You blink in surprise at how he lifted you as if you weighed nothing.

"Thank you." You say sheepishly, righting yourself quickly. You notice Naki's gaze is on your wound, and when you look down you see that it's started to turn purple, and it's huge. You wince at the sight, and quickly pull your shirt down.

"It's not as bad as it looks." The lie leaves your lips before you even think it through. You can't help it…Naki looks so worried, almost scared, and it made your chest hurt. You much preferred his bright smile to the obvious pain-filled expression he shows you now.

You hear the twins, who are standing just behind Naki, start to speak, and you're sure you hear your name and Naki's.

"That's a good idea! Do that!" Naki nods. You're confused, until you see the twins leave the cell. You see that the door has been fixed, or at least put on hinges, although it still had a massive bulge from where it was kicked in.

"They said we should talk alone." Naki says, turning to you. His eyes stare into yours before they dart away.

"We gotta talk about what happened." He continues.

"Yeah…I know." You murmur quietly. There's a long silence, and you gently pat the space on the mattress next to you. Naki doesn't hesitate for a moment, and sits right beside you. He hugs his knees to his chest, resting his chin just in-between his kneecaps. You feel your leg just touch his, and the contact, however small, makes you feel a bit lighter.

"You got hurt." He says quietly. "I wasn't there."

"Naki…" You murmur softly, turning towards him. His brow is furrowed, the anger in his eyes obvious. You raise your hand, hesitating for a moment, before your fingertips gently run down his hair. He makes a small sound, and he leans into your touch.

"If—If anything happened to you…because I wasn't there…like—like—!" His voice hitches, and you realise there's something more behind this. This event had hit a very sensitive nerve in Naki, and you knew it.

"Naki—" You start, only for Naki to spin towards you, making you recoil your hand instinctively, and as you look into his eyes the words die in your throat.

His eyes are black and red once again, and they burn so fiercely you feel a wave of fear wash over you, even though you know his rage isn't directed at you.

"I made them pay! Pay for hurting you!" He cries out. His body is shaking, overwhelmed with emotion. Yet with the ferocity he throws himself into his words, you can't help but also feel he's running, avoiding something.

But if he wasn't ready to talk about it, you certainly wouldn't push him.

After all, the words of the ghouls from last night still ring in your head. You had never thought about how much pain ghouls had to go through…and how much Naki himself must have gone through.

_The anniversary of 'his' death was coming up_…

Slowly, you put your hand forward, resting it gently on his shoulder.

"Naki…is that really…okay? I mean…" You pause, looking down to where your leg just touches his. "They were your comrades, right? They were fellow ghouls, and I'm just—"

"_I don't care_!" He cries out, shaking his head wildly, slamming his fist down on the mattress on the other side of him. "I don't care if they're ghoul or human or CCG, if someone tries to hurt someone I care about, I'm going to make them pay! I'm going to make them suffer, just like Big Bro taught me!"

You blink in surprise at his outburst, feeling your heart clench in your chest.

"Someone…you care about?" You whisper softly. Suddenly, you feel tears gather at the corner of your eyes, and you're not entirely sure why.

"Does that include me…" You pause, as Naki stares back at you in anxious concern. "Even though I'm a human, Naki?"

Naki's eyes open wide, and you see them slowly return to their normal red colour. They look so confused, so conflicted. He puts his chin back between his knees, and stays quiet for a few moments.

"I keep forgetting you're a human. Even though you smell like one, a really tasty one, I…still can't dismember…ream end her…not forget that you're human." Naki mutters quietly.

There's another long pause, before you find yourself speaking before you even think it through.

"I…often forget you're a ghoul too." You admit, running a hand through your hair. You think for a few moments, and then give a light laugh.

"I think…I think that when humans and ghouls aren't fighting or hunting each other down, we're really not so different after all." You say softly.

You keep thinking about the ghouls who attacked you. About Naki's 'Big Bro'. Had everyone here lost someone?

"I don't really think of you as a ghoul or human. You're just…Naki. That's all that matters, right?" You ask.

Naki stays quiet for a bit, before you feel him suddenly lean against you, his head resting on your shoulder. When you look down, you see his eyes drifting closed.

"I don't care what you are. You're important to me." Naki pauses, giving a long, loud yawn. "And that's all that matters."

You stay quiet, thinking about everything that had happened. You close your eyes for a moment, but open them suddenly when you feel something on your lap. Your eyes then fly open as you look down.

"Naki?" You say in surprise, blinking as you watch Naki's light blonde hair spread out over your lap, where his head rests comfortably. His eyes are closed, his mouth slightly open as he gently breathes in and out, his chest rising and falling slowly.

The door slowly opens, and you see Gagi poke his head in. He looks down at Naki, making a startled sound, and then walks in. You realise what he's doing, and you shake your head.

"It's okay, you can let him sleep." You murmur. You hesitate for a few moments, before you gently begin to stroke his light hair. He makes a pleased noise in his sleep, so you continue. He had been working hard, guarding you every day, trying to learn to read and write properly. And after what happened…

"Did he…get any sleep last night?" You ask. Gagi stays still for a few moments, before he slowly shakes his head. Gagi begins to speak, and when you look confused he begins to speak in single words. Eventually, you're able to catch them.

"Food. Attack." You narrow your eyes, before they open wide. "…Essay? Cape?"

Before you can ask anything, Guge opens the door and pokes his head through, making some more sounds that you certainly couldn't understand. Gagi responds in irritation. You're completely lost in what they are talking about, but you have a feeling that's the point.

Naki makes a small, annoyed sound, and you realise it's probably best to ask questions later.

The twins stay quiet, and then look to you.

"You guys can go get some sleep. I'll make sure he gets some rest." You tell them, knowing they must not have gotten much sleep either, to which they immediately shake their heads in refusal. Gagi steps outside, but by the lack of steps afterward you know he's standing right outside your door. Guge stands on the inside of it, looking to the side.

You sigh, but you're really in no position to argue with them. You look down at Naki, who's still sleeping peacefully on your lap, and you decide to worry about him for now.

Hours pass, though you're never quite sure. You drift out yourself a few times, still desperate for some proper sleep yourself.

Finally, Guge steps towards you, and makes a motion that he needed to take Naki now. You were so tired, and as much as you liked having Naki sleep on you (despite the ache in your legs from not being able to move them), you didn't protest.

"Wake up, sleepy bed." You whisper to Naki, trying to stifle your laughter. Naki makes a low groan, obviously unhappy at being woken. Guge leans down and puts his arms around Naki, but when he pulls up, Naki's hands suddenly reach out and tightly grasp your shirt. You look up at Guge in confusion, before you gently take Naki's hands, pulling them off. But his hands just grip yours now, tightly, and he looks up at you suddenly, his eyes open wide.

"I'd let you go if I could."

The high-pitched, frantic words which come out of his mouth makes your heart beat stop. His grip on you increases, and you can feel him shaking.

"You know that, right? Cause you have to know that! If I—If I could, I'd let you go right now!" Naki cries out, tears pouring down his face. He pulls your hand forward and then buries his face in your chest, sobbing.

"It's not fair…" He whimpers, before he slowly releases his grip on you. Guge gently pulls him away, holding him carefully and giving you a quick nod before he turns and leaves the room. As the door closes, Guge turns to look back at you. You look away immediately.

You hear the door shut, and you slowly curl up on the mattress. You put your hand over where Naki cried, and think about what he said.

You can't stem the flow of tears which run down your face, and you can only bury your face in the mattress and hope that when you wake up, the despair that overruns you might go away.

You know it won't, but you hope anyway.


	8. The Sentence - Part Five

_Author's Notes: As always, follow me on another site, as I've been receiving some 'threats' on this site, if you enjoy this story. You can find me on AO3, Wattpad, Tumblr, and Quotev~_

"Hey, what's a good word for 'lots'? Like, I miss you lots. One of those big, fancy words." Naki asks, tapping the back of his pen against his arm. He turns it to the side absentmindedly, and before he accidently draws on his suit and freaks out, you gently tilt the pen away.

"Just keep it simple, Naki. If you write this letter like you're using a thesaurus, it's not going to sound like you." You tell him.

"The…sore us?" Naki tilts his head, and his eyes suddenly open wide. "Does your side still hurt?!"

The concern in his voice touches you, but before you can assure him everything's fine, he grabs your shirt and tries to pull it up to check on your wound, of course using too much strength and pulling it up way too high.

"T—That's not necessary!" You say, your voice rising in pitch as you push his hands down. Naki frowns, but instead of fighting you, he reluctantly lets go. Although he still looks at your side worriedly, his lower lip jutting out slightly in a pout.

"It's getting much better. It only hurts if something touches it." You continue, giving him a kind smile as you gently push his hands back towards him.

"F—Fine." Naki stammers. His face is red, and you don't realise why until you look down and see you're still holding his hand. You feel your own face flush as you hastily let them go.

"Um…well anyways, it's not 'the sore us', it's a 'thesaurus'—"

"Oh! A dinosaur!" Naki beams, looking so proud that you don't have the heart to correct him.

"…Anyways, it's best to keep it simple." You say sweetly. "Instead of trying to sound like someone you're not."

"You're right! Big Bro never pretended that he was someone else, and he'd never want me to do it either." Naki nods, going back to writing. "Bro Bro might think someone's trying to in-person-mate me if I write weird!"

You nod, smiling brightly. You had really come to love the words Naki came up with, and you couldn't imagine how stilted and awkward the letter would be if Naki tried to use the fanciest words possible. You much preferred his own unique voice.

Naki's tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth as he concentrates on writing the letter. He'd gotten much better at writing, although it still took him a lot of time and focus. But he was determined to write this letter.

All he'd told you was that it was for his Big Bro, and it was really important that he wrote it. He'd even brought a small table, so he could write while sitting on the mattress with you next to him to help him in writing the words correctly.

To be honest, you were grateful for the distraction. The physical mark left by the attack a few days prior was nothing compared to the mental scars it had left on your psyche.

Worse, it had reminded you that the threat of this place was real. Before, you'd gotten lost in your happy days with Naki. His bright smile, his innocent mistakes with words, his eagerness to learn…you thought you could just say content and cheerful with Naki and Gagi and Guge.

Like you were playing house.

But you were in a prison. And when Naki left, and the lights turned out…you were left alone and in darkness.

That was when you remembered. Remembered that you were waiting to die here.

"How do you write 'beautiful'?" Naki asks suddenly. You blink in surprise, before writing it down on the spare piece of paper you'd brought out to write the words for him.

"And 'prisoner'?" He asks again. You feel your cheeks flushing, but start writing it out.

"And 'kind' is like this…" Naki mutters under his breath, writing quickly. He used his arm to block your view from the letter, although the words he'd asked you to write out for him (including 'raid', 'quinque', 'half-ghoul', 'revenge', and 'torture') had given you a good idea about what he was writing to his 'Big Bro'.

He always managed to distract you from the looming threat of this place, even if he didn't realise it. You smile gently as you rest your head on your hand and watch him. He certainly looks like he's having a lot of fun.

"Ah…right!" Naki speaks up suddenly. "They made me kill those guys who hurt you."

Your eyes open wide in surprise, and you feel a chill run over your spine. He says it casually, with just a hint of disappointment.

"I wanted to keep them alive for longer, but Eto said no." Naki pouts. "She said to show them 'mercy' since they're part of Aogiri Tree."

He sighs, tilting his head and cracking his middle finger again, like he had on the night of the attack.

"I could feel Big Bro's spirit lookin' down on me from heaven and telling me what a good job I was doing." He sniffs. "Not fair…those guys got off way too easy for hurting you…"

Naki lets out a short puff of air, before he realises that you're not saying anything, and turns to you.

You're staring down at your hands, your face blank. You're trying to sort out all your feelings. You hear Naki say your name quizzically, obviously confused.

"You know…" You speak up suddenly, flexing your hands unsurely in your lap. "After those ghouls attacked me…I really hated them. I hated them for ganging up on me, even though they were so much stronger than I was that I didn't have a chance of defending myself anyway. I hated them for attacking Guge, and ganging up on him to. I hated them for blaming me for things that weren't my fault."

Naki stays quiet, and you take that as an opportunity to continue.

"But…now that I know they're dead, I just feel sad." You whisper softly. "I—I can't forget how angry and—and _sad_ they sounded."

Slowly, you turn to Naki. He looks confused and anxious, like he's not sure what he's supposed to say.

"Ghouls…must suffer a lot, don't they Naki." You say softly. "They must lose many people they care about in their life."

Naki's eyes open wide, and the sadness and pain in them are obvious. He looks away, down to the letter he's been writing. It was all done…the only thing missing was an address.

"Naki…what happened to your 'Big Bro'?" You ask him, keeping your voice as soft as possible.

Naki is quiet, clearly thinking. Finally, he pushes the desk away, and then turns his body towards you. You follow suit. He looks down at you carefully, before he looks away.

"He's Big Bro Yamori. They called him Jason of the 13th ward." Naki starts suddenly. His eyes dart back to yours, and you can see they're filled with tears.

"He was killed."

And that's the start of Naki's long tale about his Big Bro, and how Naki himself became Yamori's right hand man.

He told you everything: how Yamori trusted him to run errands, to count money, to sometimes help him with getting 'information' out of Aogiri Tree's enemies. Naki fondly told you how Yamori even gave him a birthday gift, and was always patient and would kindly explain really complex things simply to Naki, so that he could understand them. He told you all he knew about Yamori's past, and the torture he underwent at the hands of the CCG. He told you about how Yamori died, murdered by a one-eyed ghoul nicknamed 'Eyepatch'.

He told you about being broken out of prison, only to learn that the most important person to him in the world had died. While he hadn't been there.

Suddenly, you understood a lot of Naki's actions and words. You understood what he was so afraid of.

And from what Naki said, Yamori was…not a very nice man in general, at least not to most. But to his right hand man…

"You must have been a special person to him, Naki." You say softly, when you hear Naki has been quiet for a few moments, wiping his eyes as he desperately tries to stem his tears. However, at your words, he looks up in surprise.

"H—Huh?" He asks, blinking at you. He presses his lips together, as they start to tremble, and when he tries to talk, more tears pour down his face.

"I'm not as strong as he was." He cries. You wonder if by 'strong', he really means 'cruel', and cautiously thing about how to speak to him about this.

"I…don't think that's a bad thing." You respond quietly. As Naki looks confused, you gently put your hands on his face. He recoils slightly, before he stills. Your thumbs gently wipe the tears from his cheeks as he stares at you in disbelief.

You think carefully, trying to form the words before you say them. In the end though, you just speak what you feel.

"You said that Yamori was different, before the CCG got to him? That they tortured him, and he changed, but no one knew what he was like before, right?" You ask softly. Naki nods, and you hesitate for only a moment before you continue.

"I wonder…I mean, even if most of that other Yamori disappeared after what happened…maybe, maybe some parts of him were still left. Those parts that he showed to you, Naki. You were probably the only one too." You say gently as you look down to Naki's hands, which are shaking as they grip the fabric of his pants tightly.

"I didn't know Yamori, but from what you've told me I—I think he was proud of you, and he'd be very proud of the man you've become, Naki. You're strong, and not afraid to hurt others, but—but you're also loyal and…and you can be a good person Naki, a really good person." You pause, but Naki stays silent.

"I think you must have been very important to Yamori, Naki. I think that…that maybe you reminded him. Reminded him of his old self…and that you brought out the remaining pieces of that old self." You take a deep breath, and slowly exhale.

"You meant a lot to him, Naki. He might not have shown it but—but I think he treasured you, Naki."

You finish, and slowly let your hands fall from his face. For a few moments there is nothing but deep silence. Then, suddenly, Naki grabs you, his fingers gripping your shoulders strongly. His face was tilted down, hidden by his long hair, and you couldn't see his expression. At first you wonder if you went too far, although for some reason you're not scared.

Before you could ask what he was doing, his hands slowly run your shoulders, stopping just under your chest, and above your bruise. Then, he wraps his arms around you and buries his face into your stomach.

For the first time, he cries quietly. He sobs into your shirt. You can hear the agony in his voice, as he whimpers "Big Bro Yamori", which you struggle to hear as it's muffled by your body.

You truly understand how much Yamori meant to him now…and how great of an effect your words would have on him. You feel guilty for upsetting him so, but you feel those words were important for him to hear.

He cries for a long time, while you just stroke his hair and stay silent. Finally, he pulls his head up. Your eyes open wide as his face hovers just before yours, his nose just a hair away from yours. You stare into his eyes, which are red and bloodshot from so much crying. He sniffs, turning to the side to wipe his nose with his sleep before he turns back to you.

"You're going to die too. I'm going to lose you too." He whispers, and the sound sends a spike of pain through your chest. The look of anguish and despair on his face. The suffering you could see in his eyes at the thought of your death.

You never would have imagined anyone in this place would care about your death, much less mourn it. Yet Naki…

You can't stop the tears from gathering at your eyes and spilling over your cheeks.

What could you even say to him?

_It's going to be alright Naki. You're never going to lose me! I'm not going to die! I'm always going to be here for you!_

You wish you could say that, you truly did. But it was such a bold faced lie you knew neither of you would ever believe it, no matter how much you wanted to.

You don't _want_ to die. You don't _want_ to cause Naki any more pain. You don't _want_ this to be your fate.

But what can you do? You can't fight or sneak your way out of this place. Naki can't save you, since helping you to escape could mean his own death, if he was ever able to get you out of this place in the first place.

There was no hope. All you could do was take joy in the fact that your last days had been spent with someone as kind, bright, and playful as Naki. Someone who made you happy, who made you smile even in this horrible place.

"I'm glad I met you. Even if it had to end like this, I'm really glad I met you." You smile, tears flowing down your face. You sniff. "Naki, I—"

His hands suddenly rest on your face, surprising you into silence. He gently wipes the tears from your eyes with the pads of his thumbs, just like you had done for him. Slowly, he leans forth, and presses his lips against yours.

It tastes like salt, and feels wet and warm.

You're happy, so happy, yet for some reason it just makes you cry harder.

This could be your last kiss. And you're happy it was with him.

He pulls back slightly, and then rests his forehead against yours. He sniffles, and cries your name. You wish you could beg him not to cry, but the only thing that can escape you are choked sobs. Slowly, you raise your hands, which are trembling. You lay them gently on his face, your fingertips gently stroking his skin.

_Naki, I need you to know…please know…_

"You're a good person." He exhales slowly, and you hear something in his voice, something that makes your heartbeat almost stop. He lifts his head up slightly, so now his eyes are boring straight into yours. They're hard and strong and it takes your breath away, like all the air in your lungs has suddenly disappeared.

You had a feeling you were looking at the Naki who had become Yamori's right hand man. The powerful, vicious ghoul who had achieved an S rank from the CCG. The man who destroyed those who hurt the ones he cared about.

"I wasn't there to protect Big Bro. I couldn't save him." His breath hitches, and he grits his teeth. His grip on you tightens slightly, and you feel yourself hold your breath. His next words makes a fire and a chill run through your blood at the same time.

"**_I'll die before I lose you too_**!"


	9. The Final Verdict - Part One

_Author's Note: Figured I'd update before I went on vacation. Enjoy~_

Naki had been _extremely _serious about not wanting to leave you. He had even been talking about the twins bringing food for him while he slept here—and you had to admit, being with Naki so much did sound nice, and much better than sitting alone, trying to ignore the terror clawing at your insides like some a hungry animal.

But you also knew if he completely disappeared from the activities of this place, someone would eventually come looking for him. And if they found Naki, who was here to be your guard and warden, living with you as if the two of you were newlyweds starring in the most macabre sitcom ever conceived, there was no way in the world you would ever, _ever _see Naki again, certainly not before you were killed.

Not to mention what punishment he would have to face.

So, when he refused to listen to the twins, who were trying to talk some sense into him, and said he'd never, ever leave you here while you were in danger, you spoke up. Gently, kindly, you told him that leaving at least occasionally, with the twins here to guard you, would keep you much safer than if they found Naki practically living with a human and decided to instill a new guard who wouldn't care about you in the slightest, and would make sure you made it to that trade.

Obviously upset, you could see your words had finally reached him..

Well, Naki certainly didn't like the idea (and he made that loudly and abundantly clear), but it was three against one. Although Naki usually didn't let the opinion of others get in the way of what he wanted to do, with enough coaxing he eventually caved.

He, very, _very_, reluctantly agreed to keep your arrangement like it was before, that it was the best for your safety.

Even if every time he had to go he whined and complained, he would still grudgingly leave (or allow the twins to drag him out). Gagi and Guge would always stay when he left, and, if you asked, or if they heard you crying, one would come in so you didn't feel so alone. So you could get to sleep.

"_…Naki, I'm so scared…_"

And Naki would still come during the night sometimes. You didn't know how he always seemed to come when you desperately needed him there, when you felt like you were going to go mad from the fear that you would wake up while you were being eaten alive.

But you were always grateful that he was there. He'd rest behind you on the mattress, snoring loudly, his limbs sprawled out and his leg flung over yours.

Somehow this always put you into a peaceful sleep.

For a prison cell where you were awaiting a brutal execution, it was a nice arrangement. You were happy, when you were able to forget the horrifying terror which dug it's claws into you, climbing up from your stomach and to squeeze your heart in its vice like grip.

But all good things must come to an end.

"I found him! I know where he is!"

Naki's happy cry as he bursts through the door of your cell, nearly making it fall completely off its hinges, makes you jump in your seat and nearly choke on the large sip of water you were taking. Wiping your face before closing the bottle, you turn to him in confusion and see him brandishing a paper to you proudly. Behind him, Gagi and Guge look just as excited, talking so rapidly that you wouldn't have been able to understand them even if they hadn't been speaking in garbled noises.

"Who's 'him'?" You ask, standing up straight and walking towards them.

"It's who is 'he'!" He corrects you excitedly. You pause for a moment, eyes wide as you blink in surprise, and then let out a soft snort of laughter. Well, you certainly do it to him often enough…might as well let him have this one.

"And _he_ is the guy who's trying to get you! The guy who's trading with us!" He continues, holding out the paper to you. Your eyes widen further in surprise, your heart beating rapidly, and you quickly look over the document.

"See? They found him in this place nearby, and they think he's gonna try and sneak in here soon!" Naki cries, his eyes wide in excitement as he points at different words over the paper. "He doesn't know we know where he is, so he's still there!"

From what the report says, everything Naki says is accurate. Not surprising, he'd gotten much better at reading, and the words were written in a simple, easy to read style, unlike last time, with relatively simple words as well.

You feel your heart skip a beat, as you look up to him unsurely.

"So…what happens now?" You can't keep the fear and anxiety out of your voice. Will Aogiri Tree try to trade you before he sneaks in? If he dies in the attempt, will they kill you too?

"We're going to hunt him down!" Naki says cheerfully. "Then we'll kill him, and you won't have to worry about being eaten anymore!"

You feel a spark of hope once again igniting in your chest, even with the grisly nature of his words, but you're still cautious.

"Will I be let go…even if he dies?" You ask nervously. Naki nods excitedly in response, grinning.

"Yeah! You don't know anything about us, and if we don't need you for the trade anymore I can just let you go." Naki continues.

"You won't get in any trouble for just releasing a prisoner?" You ask softly, watching him carefully.

"Uh…Y—Yeah, it'll be fine!" Naki says, his eyes suddenly darting away. He's a terrible liar, and you look back at him in obvious concern, your lips pressed together in a tight line. He looks back to you, and exhales loudly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Don't worry about it! It'll be fine!" Naki smiles at you, and it's genuine. It puts you at ease, if only slightly. You have to admit, if you weren't needed for anything important and you had no important information that could jeopardize Aogiri Tree, they surely wouldn't punish Naki too harshly for just letting you go?

Surely they couldn't be that cruel, not to one of their own.

Then, you jump slightly, as something very important occurs to you.

"Wait…won't they be mad that you killed someone they're trying to get information from?" You ask nervously, looking down at the report. It definitely said that this other ghoul was to be watched, not interacted with on any level.

"I'm going to get the information from him first!" Naki said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"…How?" You ask, raising a brow.

"The way Big Bro taught me how!" He replies, looking extremely pleased.

You decide it's best not to ask any questions.

"…We gotta go now if we want to get this guy." Naki says suddenly. His voice is oddly subdued, all the bravado from before suddenly gone. You look up at him curiously, and see he's looking at you with obvious worry and anxiety on his face.

"I can only leave Gagi." He continues nervously, and you quickly understand why he's so concerned. You give him a bright smile, trying to put him at ease the same way he did for you.

"If this guy is planning to sneak in, there's no way he'll get this deep into your compound, right? And he's certainly not planning a trade tonight, not according to this, so there's no worry about anyone trying to take me." You pat his arm comfortingly, and then slowly begin to rub it. "So there's no need to worry! And once you get back—"

_And once you get back, I'll be free. We'll both be free. And then…_

You want to say it, but you close your mouth instead. After a moment's pause, you open it once more.

"Please, just return safe, Naki." You say gently. You hesitate, before you lean forward and affectionately kiss his cheek. You pull back, your hand tightly gripping the paper in a tight fist as the other grips his suit. You take a deep breath, and look up at him with a worried gaze.

"I don't want to lose you either." You whisper softly.

Naki's entire face turns a bright red, and he just nods. He gives you a long, heartfelt goodbye (including a shy, very quick kiss) before he turns to leave…before turning again to take the paper from you, which you happily give to him. Of course, the address of the place is noted on the paper, and it wouldn't do for Naki to go to the wrong place.

"That goes for you too, Guge." You say kindly, waving at Guge. He looks surprised, and tilts his head slightly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Then, he nods strongly, and makes a series of noises which sounds like a promise to 'protect Big Bro'.

You open your mouth to say goodbye, but find the word sticks in your throat. You fear that if you speak, you'll start to cry, and then none of them will ever leave. Instead, you give a brief nod and a bright smile. Naki waves excitedly, his ears still red, before he closes the door. Even through the thick material of the door, you can just hear him talking excitedly to the twins.

You want to sigh in relief, but something is still nagging at your thoughts. An anxiousness, an apprehension you can't quite place. But you're sure it just must be nervousness for Naki, worried that this other ghoul could hurt someone even as strong as him, even with Guge as back-up…

You lay down at the mattress, staring at the dirty grey of the ceiling above you. You pause for a few moments, before you sit up.

_Something…something is… _

You begin to gather up everything, the books and paper Naki had left, the food…finally, you grab the blanket. You pause to hug it close to your chest, enjoying the warmth and softness that had meant so much to you when you first arrived in this place, and tried not to tear up as you quickly stuff it into the bag, along with everything else. You take everything, and hide it in the small bathroom area.

You tell yourself it was just to be safe. Just a precaution.

You gently peel up the mattress, and pull a stack of papers out from beneath it. At the top of each piece of paper is the name of one of your friends and family, your loved ones.

You'd been prepared. As much as you wanted to believe Naki was going to save you, that he would never let such a horrific fate befall you…you still wanted to be prepared. So every night when he left, you'd write. You'd write all the things you wanted to say to those you loved, but were afraid you'd never have a chance to. Your wrote your goodbyes, your thanks, your final 'I love you's.

Many of them were stained with tears. You didn't know if every letter would end up reaching every person, but you had to hope.

Without hope, you only had despair.

You'd thought you were finished with the letters…but over the time you'd spent here, you'd found one more person who you cared about. One more person who you needed to make sure knew exactly how much you loved him.

You grab a blank sheet of paper. You pick up the pen you'd hidden under the mattress as well.

You write Naki's name at the top, and start to write.

You yawn, stretching you limbs as you look down at the page. You'd been writing for a while, although the letter was still short. You had so many things you wanted to say, yet…you didn't feel you needed many words to say it.

Maybe it was because Naki didn't do well with words. Maybe it was because he knew you well enough to know what you meant behind them.

You run a hand through your hair, when something grabs your attention. A sound, which suddenly sets you on edge. You put the letters back under the mattress, except for Naki's. Gently, you fold it in half, so the outside appears blank.

No one from Aogiri Tree can see this letter, you know that.

It would be bad—very, very bad.

You hastily write on the outside that the letters are under your bed, and everything else is hidden in the shower.

You thank Gagi and Guge for their kindness towards you, as you hear Gagi's garbled speech from outside, crying out in anger. You crumple the paper up, making it as small as possible and gripping it in your fist.

It's then that they burst your door down.

They drag you out forcefully.

You don't try to struggle, there's no point.

Not until they pull you out the door and you can see Gagi, also being held back by at least four ghouls, crying out and saying something. You're not positive, but you're sure he's telling them to stop, to wait until Naki comes back. He sounds so scared, so angry, and he cries out when he sees you.

It's painful. You're scared and desperate, but it's the sound of agony in Gagi's voice makes tears gather at your eyes.

That's when you pull forward. The ghouls, not expecting much resistance from a prisoner they'd probably assumed was malnourished if not used as torture practice, hadn't been holding you too strongly, and you'd been able to lunge forward, even a little. You grabbed the lapels of Gagi's suit, and your eyes opened wide as they begged him not to fight.

At the same time, you stuffed the crumpled letter in your hand into his suit, flattening it with your hand as inconspicuously as possible.

Your hair is yanked back violently, making you scream in pain, before something is put over your mouth.

Your world goes black.


	10. The Final Verdict - Part Two

_Author's Note: This chapter stops a little short, as it's incredibly long, so I needed to split it up. The next half will be up sooner than usual, to make up for the fact this is now a bit shorter. As always, some very dark themes below!_ -

In retrospect, you were lucky.

_Very_ lucky.

You could have spent days, weeks, however long you'd been held captive, with only yourself in that miserable prison cell, terrified and alone. You could have spent your days wallowing in despair and your nights crying yourself to a sleep that would only bring more nightmares. You could have lived and died in complete and utter misery.

But you'd been given one small blessing. Someone who treated you kindly, who made the short remainder of life happy and pleasant instead of painful…someone in this place who would care that you died, would mourn your death. Someone in this place who would remember you.

And now, in your final moments, that blessing meant everything to you.

_"Naki…I'm truly glad I met you._

_Thank you for everything you've done for me._

_I don't know what the next world holds…but I promise, I will never forget you."_

When you regain consciousness, you're in a bag. You can tell because it smells like burlap and scratches at your skin unmercifully. Outside, you can hear voices, people talking, but you can't make it out…your head is still spinning, your thoughts still scrambled as you try to make sense of what is happening.

_Where…am I…?_

Then, there's yelling, screaming. Angry cries. Shrieks of anguish. You feel your body move through the air, feeling weightless for a few fleeting moments, and then you hit the ground, the pain of impact on your shoulder quickly bringing you to your senses. A strangled cry escapes your lips, but when you try to move, your body still feels like lead.

Chaos sounds all around you. You try to call out, but your scream sticks in your throat. Your heart beats wildly, as you pant through your open mouth. Your fingers shake as you struggle to raise your hand, desperately hoping to claw open the bag.

You don't know what's happening out there, but it has to be better than whatever fate staying in this bag holds for you.

Suddenly, a small ray of light pierces the darkness of the bag. It slowly expands, moving from above your head towards your feet, and you realise someone is cutting open the bag.

The edges of the cut splits the bag in two, and then the fabric is roughly pulled back.

You look up hopefully. It could be him, if he came in time…

You face falls, as you stare in horror up to an unfamiliar face. It twists into a dark grin which screams 'unstable and violent'. The eyes are black and red, and when he tilts his head, his large ears stick out.

The bladed tip of the dark red tail he'd used to open your bag flicks slightly.

You remember this face, if only slightly. You'd seen him occasionally, before you'd' been imprisoned, as you went about your days…you hadn't thought anything of it, except that he might have been staring at you. You had thought he was just a lonely middle-aged man who liked to check out young girls.

He had been stalking you.

You knew. This was _him_. The ghoul they were trading you to.

The one who started all this.

The one who wanted to _eat_ you.

"You!" He breaths deeply. His grin widens even further, and you feel your stomach churn in disgust. He leans down, slowly, as if he's savouring this. His hands reach out for you, and you're so paralysed with terror you can't move. You wanted to fight, you wanted to run, but the drug still coursing through your veins made it impossible. You were a puppet with its strings cut, and all you could you was lay there, powerless.

It's him. This is it. You're going to die.

His hands reach you.

"Now little mouse, just stay qui—"

At that point in his speech, his hands grip your sides. His fingers, tightly digging into the skin of your bruise, pulling as he starts to lift you up.

Stars explode before your eyes.

You _scream_, as loudly and piercingly as you can, your back arching as you writhe in pain. Suddenly, nothing else matters. The instinctual desire to survive is all that drives you. You desperately try to claw at the arms grasping you, making a long, low wail of agony.

His eyes open wide.

"Stop! They're going to—"

This time, he's interrupted by a spear cleanly piercing through his head, with all the grace and precision of a surgeon.

His eyes open wide, before blood begins to leak from the corners of them. His hands let you go, and tremble as they raise to the sides of his head, as if he's trying to put the shattered remnants of blood, bone, and brain back together.

The spear pulls back, and the ghoul crumples to the ground.

You make a sound, but you can barely hear it. Your mind struggles to comprehend this, and for a minute you wonder if you've already died, and this is your mind's desperate attempt to make your last moments happy for you.

You don't know if you dare to hope again.

A tall man in glasses steps in front of your vision. Cold and beautiful, you can only marvel at the sight before you. This man…not a ghoul, but something more than human.

He holds out his hand.

Your fingers tremble, your arm heavy as lead as you slowly raise it. Then, as everything comes crashing down, you grab that outstretched hand with all your might, digging your nails into his skin to make sure he wouldn't be able to let you go.

You can't stop yourself from sobbing with joy.

**"THE CCG?! HOW THE FUCK DID THEY KNOW ABOUT THIS?!"**

The enraged voice is loud, and Naki pouts as he covers his ears. It doesn't hide the sound of a chair being thrown, and shattered, against a brick wall. The yelling had been going on ever since the team charged with carrying out the deal had returned, and the news of the CCG ambush had come to light. Half of the team, as well as the ghoul they had been going to meet, had been killed, others captured. It had been a complete and utter disaster, and many of the higher-ups, especially the ones in charge of the operation, were furious.

Normally, such a thing would enrage Naki himself to no end, making him swear to get vengeance on the bastards who dared to attack them. But his fury at the CCG interfering in their affairs had been slightly tempered by one other fact.

They had rescued you.

Naki hated beyond all reason that you had been rescued by the CCG of all people, that it had been _them_ who saved you and not him, but he had nearly fallen over from relief when he'd learned the deal hadn't gone through.

That just about as he was going to lose you, lose you because he hadn't been there…you'd survived. You were okay. You were still alive.

Now, all he had to do was—

"No."

Naki spins around, looking down in surprise, and sees a familiar face staring back at him coldly.

"Whatever you're thinking, whatever weird relationship you had with the human: no."

The voice holds no emotion but annoyance. Naki glowers down at him, but says nothing.

"You're pretty damn lucky we didn't find anything in that cell." The man intones, running a hand through his dark hair before he glares sharply at Naki, eyes narrowing in disgust.

"The CCG is watching that girl now. We're done with her. _Completely fucking done_. We can't get the information we took her for in the first place, and any attack risks _him_ getting involved." He growls, his hands balling up into fists.

Naki scowls at him, but still says nothing in return. There's not much he can say, not without revealing everything, and he knows that would be bad. So be bites his tongue, bites back the overwhelming desire to say that _true love_ couldn't be stopped by stupid shit like that.

Instead, Naki lets out a loud 'Hmph!', and crosses his arms over his chest, looking away and ignoring the other man childishly.

The other ghoul rolls his eyes, but decides he has better things to do. He spins on his heels, and walks out, leaving one last parting piece of wisdom:

"**Leave the girl alone**."


	11. The Final Verdict - Part Three

_Author's Note: And here's the second half of the previous chapter :) It's a bit short, but I think it works. I hope you enjoy! The next chapter will be the last one! As always, please make sure to check out the other sites I put my stories on, especially tumblr, in case my stories end up being taken off this site._

_—_

"There she is!"

Naki's voice is raspy as he tries to whisper, but loud as excitement overwhelms him. It had been _days_ since he'd last laid eyes on you. Seeing you now was like watching the sun come up after a week of darkness and gloom.

He never could have imagined how over overjoyed he would be just to see you walking into your small apartment. Even the fact that a CCG officer was following you in couldn't diminish his happiness (especially since he knew he'd get to beat him up to get you out of there).

Gagi and Guge can't help but be excited too, since they were both very happy that you were safe as well. Still, they tugged on the cuffs of Naki's suit, trying to tell him that he should duck down. They were watching from a balcony in an apartment across from yours, looking through the big window which showed the interior of your living room.

"It's gonna be so great when she starts living with us." Naki whispers eagerly, red eyes almost shining in anticipation as he looks over the wall of the balcony. "She'll be like the princess from the books we read! I'll keep her safe and happy, and we'll be able to play the Crazy Eating and Hag Made games, and she'll help me write a lot of letters to Big Bro, and she'll always be with us, and—and—"

He stops suddenly, as he sees you sit down, nearly collapsing, on the couch. The man from the CCG talks to you, and you hold your face in your hands as you rest your elbows on your knees. He talks to you again, and you just point to the door. His movements get more belligerent, obviously angry, and Naki makes an aggressive, predatory noise from the back of his throat. Gagi and Guge follow suit, obviously just as irritated that this man was upsetting you.

You point at the door harder, jerking your arm angrily, and the man throws his arms in the air before he opens the door of your apartment, storms out, and slams the door behind him. Naki tilts his head, obviously confused at what was happening. Obviously, he understood hating the CCG, but if that man was supposed to be guarding you…

Then he sees something dripping through your hands. It takes him a moment, but he realises what it is: tears.

You're crying.

Naki feels his heart ache as you drop yours hands and let the tears run freely down your face. You push your hair from your fair, your fingers gripping the strands tightly.

He hates seeing you like this. He just wants to get you out of there already, take you home so you can stay with him and never ever feel sad ever again. If you wanted to cry, you could cry together! You'd never have to—

Naki is startled by the door suddenly opening, and a large group of people entering. You look up in surprise, but you don't need to get up. The people immediately surround you, touching your hair and arms, and speaking to you.

For some reason, the joy on your face makes his heart hurt even more.

You smile, sniffing and rubbing your eyes. The people hand you packets of tissues, at least half a dozen being pushed towards you, and you laugh, shaking your hands in polite refusal, and rub your face on your sleeve. Someone in the back makes a comment, and everyone laughs. They go back to talking, touching you, rubbing your back, smiling as you laugh with them. Even the man from before comes back into the room, leaning against the front door he closed behind him as he watches the scene playing out before him with a small smile.

Gagi nudges him, and when Naki looks up in surprise, he sees the large ghoul holding a stack of papers…the stack of letters that he'd taken from your cell the night they took you. They'd brought it back today to leave it when they took you, since they knew you wanted the people you addressed it to to have them. Naki turns back, brow furrowing slightly.

"So…they're her friends?" He pauses, and then sniffs the air. It's faint, but he can make out some familiar, although distinct, scents. Some of those people are related to you too.

"Her…family?…" He mutters quietly. The very word makes his heart hurt.

Naki suddenly goes quiet, his eyes narrowing as he watches you, and the people comforting you. Minutes pass, and Gagi and Guge look between each other before they call Naki's name, and gently nudge his shoulder.

Naki tugs his hair anxiously, memories of the many days passed running through his mind.

_C—Crying alone. It's awful._

_I—I hate it! I want to go—go home!_

_…__Naki, I'm so scared…._

You were happy with him, right?

You'd had so much fun together! You read and played and laughed and cried with each other. He'd protected you and cared for you and kissed you. And he would make sure to continue doing that every day you were with him!

You'd been happy with him!

But…you hadn't been happy to be in a prison…

_I'd let you go if I could. You know that, right? Cause you have to know that! _

_If I—If I could…_

_I'd let you go right now!_

He'd told you that, and meant every word. He wanted you to be free, to be happy…

Naki stands up suddenly.

"Let's go."

It's all he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

Gagi and Guge both stand up in shock, talking at the same time as they ask Naki what he means. Go now, and take her with so many people around? Leave and come back later to take her when everyone was gone? Or…

"No, she has to stay here." Naki says determinedly, shaking his head so fast his hair whips around his face. "She…she can't come with us!"

The twins stay quiet, before they gently remind him that the CCG might try and move her somewhere else. This might be one of the last chances they have to get to her, to take her where she belonged, with them. Naki just shakes his head again, and the look of grief and agony on his face as he looks down to the scene in the apartment below makes the twins go silent.

"It's fine now." Naki says quietly. He sniffs, tears beginning to gather at the corner of his eyes. "She won't be crying alone anymore, so it's okay."

Gagi and Guge look confused as they stare back at him, too surprised to speak.

"It's okay. She can't come with us. She…she needs to stay here." Naki swallows thickly, his voice cracking.

As he watches you, tears pour down his face.

Yet at the same time, and for the first time, Naki is smiling as he cries.


	12. The Memories Which Remain

_Author's Note: And so this is the end! Hope you enjoy~_

Your head is killing you. You're so tired, practically catatonic with exhaustion. You should sleep, but you sleep so much that you can't. Not that sleeping itself helps you much.

You don't want to eat, go outside, and trying to watch television or movies just leaves you feeling hollow. Everything that used to entertain you just makes you feel bitter now.

You spend every waking moment trying to sort out all of your conflicted emotions.

You spend every night writhing in terror as you dream that ghouls are feeding parts of yourself to you, pulling off fingers and limbs and stuffing them down your throat until you choke. You dream that the ghoul who wanted you pulled you out of the bag and ate you right there. You dream that you're still in that prison, and whenever you cry out for help the walls close in, crushing you into nothing.

Most of all, you spend every moment missing Naki, and desperately wondering what happened to him. Was he safe? Had he been there during the raid? How Aogiri found out about their relationship and punished him?

Was he still alive?

You missed him so badly. The feeling of his hair beneath your fingers, the fierce emotions in his eyes, his bright smile….

"I…need to undress. Can you wait outside?" You turn blearily to the CCG officer, who had been assigned to guard you until they could relocate you to a safer location.

He drove you insane, but you knew he was a good man. He was devoted to his job and wanted to make sure nothing happened to you, and he tried his best to be kind even when you snapped at him. You knew he meant well, that he was just doing his job, just trying to protect you, but you felt like you were breaking apart at the seams and the last thing you wanted was this man watching it happen 24/7. You wanted to push him away, to get him as far away from you as possible, but you knew it was impossible, and that just drove you crazier.

He nods, promising you that he'd come back in the moment you were done, and reminding you to call him immediately if anything seemed remotely suspicious. He'd already checked the room earlier, but he gives it another quick once over before he leaves. He gives you a polite nod, hesitating only for a moment before he closes the door behind him.

He wanted to ask, but he never did. You appreciated that.

He understood that you'd gone through a lot, and tried to give you as much space as he could while still guarding you. Still…he was a stranger, and after everything, you just wanted to be with your friends and family. People who knew you, who knew what to say to make you feel better, people who didn't look scared and uncomfortable whenever you started to cry.

Then again, Naki had been a stranger when he started out as your guard.

But Naki…Naki had been different.

You swallow thickly, rubbing your eyes to get rid of the tears gathering.

You were also tired of crying. So, so tired. Yet it seems that you couldn't stop sometimes.

You had been so relieved to be saved, to finally go home and see everyone you loved. You'd thought your nightmares were over.

But nothing was the same. You'd looked forward to returning and everything going back to normal, everything being just the way it was before the accident, but it hadn't. _You_ hadn't. You weren't the same person as before…

And you were terrified you never would be.

Sometimes, you wondered if you'd left a part of yourself back in that prison. If there was a piece missing from you now, and you were just…just a broken human being being now.

But no. You didn't think that was it.

No…it was more like you'd brought back a part of that prison with you.

Still broken, but not incomplete.

You stand up, walking towards the window of your bedroom. The CCG officer had warned you not to get too close to them, so you stayed a good foot away. You weren't even sure what you were looking at, honestly. You could only see the walls of the apartment building across from you. It was a deep brown and clean, but it was still a wall. You'd been staring at those for so long, that staring at it now felt strangely familiar.

It helped ease the desperate longing ache in your heart, if only a little.

You missed him. So, so much. All you wanted was to see him again, yet the thought of going anywhere near his home, where Aogiri Tree was located, actually paralysed your body with terror. Not to mention that you had no idea where it was, and even if you did you'd be killed the moment you set foot in there.

You loved him. You needed to see him again. You couldn't, not of your own accord.

"So Naki…what happens now?" You whisper softly, gently running your hand over the glass. "What—What do I do now?"

There's no answer. You put your head in your hands, giving a long, low sigh. Your body trembles, and it takes all you have not to sink to the floor.

You hear something…odd, just outside on the balcony, to your right. You jump back suddenly, your head whipping up as you look towards it. The window of the door leading out to the balcony is just out of view, and you slowly walk to the side, your heart beating wildly and your mouth slightly open as you prepare to yell for the CCG officer.

Slowly you walk forward, and begin to see more of the balcony. When it all finally comes into view, you feel your eyes open wide.

Tears gather at the corners of them, before trickling down your face.

_"__And so, he gave her a…a…" Naki's brow furrows in concentration and frustration, and he turns the book on it's side, as if that will make the word clearer. "What the hell is that?!"_

_You lean over, looking at the words on the page._

_"__A bouquet of roses. He gave her a bouquet of roses." You explain._

_"__Boo…kay…boo…kate…oh!" He beams, his eyes opening wide. "It's a fancy way of saying 'bucket'! He gave her a bucket of roe-says!_

_You open your mouth to disagree, when you realise it's probably close enough._

_"'__Roses'." You say instead, pointing to a picture of the flower in the book. "It's a flower that men like to give to women, as a gift."_

_"__Why?" Naki asks, looking at the flower skeptically. "It doesn't look so great."_

_"__It's a symbol of romance. Ah…you know, love." You explain, your face flushing slightly._

_"__So you give it to people you love?" He asks, his eyes widening in interest._

_"__Um…yeah, I guess so." You reply. It was a bit more complex than that, but considering Naki had only just learned to say the flower's name properly, you thought that was enough explanation on its use._

_Naki nods, his expression turning serious as he looks back at the book. Then, his gaze turns curious, and he looks at you with raised brows, his eyes wide._

_"__Did you ever get roses?" He asks._

_You blink in surprise before sheepishly rubbing the back of your neck, cheeks flushing slightly._

_"__No…but I'm glad." You shrug. "I never really liked roses…they're pretty, but when I was a kid I cut myself on their thorns. They're really sharp." You sigh, pointing to the thorns also pictured._

_Naki tilts his head slightly, his eyes brightening as he looks at you._

_"__What kind of flowers do you like then?" He asks. Your eyes open wide in surprise, and you press a hand to your lips as you think. Naki simply watches you intently. After a few moments, you slowly begin to speak up._

_"…__When I was young, I saw these sunflowers…They were a really bright red, with white around the edges." You smile happily, the memory becoming clearer in your mind. The nostalgia makes a pleasant feeling bloom in your chest, and for a moment you allow yourself to be lost in the pleasantness of the memory. "I like a flower like that. Bright…something that makes me happy."_

_You turn to Naki, and then you can't help but laugh._

_"__Like you, Naki!" You smile. Naki's face flushes, and you feel yours do the same._

_"__I'm not a sunflower!" He says, high voice raising at least an entire octave._

_You laugh, leaning against him gently._

_"__No, sunflowers are like you!" You tease him playfully. "They…"_

_"__They remind me of you."_

On the balcony is a large silver bucket, filled with several large sunflowers. They're all sorts of different mixes of red and white.

Next to the bucket, you can see the blanket he gave you. Halfway under that blanket, you can see the letters you wrote…but none were as crumpled as the one you'd balled up to leave for Naki. Meaning…

He'd kept it.

But no, there was one page you didn't recognise. You can just see your name written messily on the top, a handwriting you recognise well. Slowly, you pull it out, and read it.

It's simple. Short. It says everything it needs to, in only a few sentences.

_I'm really glad I met you too. _

_I'll remember you forever._

_Be alive._

_Naki_

On the bottom is a picture, a drawing, of all of you. Gagi and Guge stand in the background, with smiles drawn on their masks. Naki stands in front of them, holding a large sunflower. On the other side of the page is you, surrounded by people, and smiling happily.

You're holding a sunflower too.

Two separate worlds, but one thing still connects you. A joy, a brightness in a dark world that you two had brought to each other.

You push the page away before it can be stained with your tears, which are now rolling down your face without cease.

You sink to your knees, your palm on the ground as your body is wracked with sobs. You hear the CCG officer calling from outside, but you ignore it.

"Naki…Naki!" You cry out, your voice nearly cracking. You feel like you're being pulled apart, and put back together at the same time. As if, despite the pain, you were slowly healing.

You now knew what part of the prison you had brought back with you. The memories, good and bad, that you would never forget.

The ones you would treasure forever.

The man who would always hold a piece of your heart.

The man you would always love.

"Naki…

_Thank you."_


End file.
